The names of the chapters in the Quran

“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”﻿

The 114 chapters of the Holy Quran are arranged according to their sizes longest being the first starting with the second chapter called "Al Baqarah" or "The Cow." This page gives you the names of the chapters both in Arabic and in English in the order that they appear in the Holy Quran. The first chapter of the Holy Quran called “The Exordium” or “Al- Fatihah” is also known as “The Opening Chapter.” The literal meaning of the word Al-Fatihah means “The Keys,” and its seven verses are “The Keys” to the Holy Quran, and therefore, this chapter was placed first. You would have to sincerely recite and feel these seven verses with your heart in order to actually open the Holy Quran and get to the meanings of it – that is the way it works, not everyone can get the meaning of the Holy Quran. The keys hang right outside of the Quran for anyone to open the Quran, amazing really.

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The Holy Quran was revealed over a span of 23 years to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). As Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) lived the first 13 years of these 23 years in Mekkah, the chapters revealed in Mekkah are known as the Mekkah-revealed chapters and as he spent the remaining 10 years of the 23 years in Medina, chapters revealed in Medina are known as the later Medina-revealed chapters. Both places have their significance. The Mekkah-revealed chapters are with more emphasis on the fundamentals of Monotheism, and the Medina-revealed chapters give more details of laws about many issues of life. In Islam it is believed that the Holy Quran provides solutions to human problems and many of the solutions to different issues were revealed gradually in different segments. That is why it is extremely important to understand the Holy Quran in a chronological order. It is also extremely important to understand the existence of such characteristics of the arrangement of the chapters in the Holy Quran so that people would understand that they cannot just read a part of the Holy Quran and decide quickly, people then would know to be cautious.

There are many issues that are well known to the Muslims that the revelations came down gradually for certain things to be explained properly or for certain other things to be prohibited, but there are many other important issues of life that it seems that Muslims are still misunderstanding.

Also Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)’s Hadiths and his Sunnah are taken into strong consideration when it comes to understanding the Holy Quran. Hadiths are Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)’s sayings and Sunnah are his doings and his ways of doing things. The Holy Quran is very condensed, and it gave solutions to the circumstances that Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was facing at that time either in Mekkah or in Medina. But Muslims often times do not take into consideration that what Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) may have okayed during a situation that took place in Mekkah, may have become superseded by a later revealed verse in the Holy Quran. Muslims need to understand that “only” the Holy Quran can supersede the Hadiths, and therefore, if a solution is found in the Holy Quran, they do not get to ignore the Holy Quran to follow a Hadith, that would be wrong, that would not be Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)’s ways.

For example, Muslims today know that the prohibition of alcohol came in a gradual revelation. There are no arguments about it amongst the Muslims, it is very well understood by the Muslims. However, in many of the Muslim countries today an adulteress is stoned to death. The Holy Quran does not instruct people to do so, it gives clear directions in its 24th Chapter called “Al Nur” or “The Light” about what the punishment should be. There are no mention of stoning to death of an adultress in the entire Holy Quran. Chapter Al Nur is the 102nd chapter in chronological order out of the total 114 chapters of the Holy Quran. But people ignore the solution found in this later Medina-revealed chapter, and choose to follow an incident that took place long before this chapter was revealed, even knowing that what happened during that incident was not the outcome of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)’s judgment, but rather, because Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) did not know what to do in that situation, he asked her to accept whatever the judgment her pagan tribe-leader would give, he directed her to follow her leader instead of taking matters into his own hands, and it was that tribe's leader that gave the punishment of being stoned to death. It was a pre-Islamic pagan practice that now many Muslims shout to re-establish. It is a common sense that if the chapter Al Nur was revealed at that time Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) would not ignore the Holy Quran and ask her to turn to her Pagan tribe-leader, who gave away a judgment simply following his pagan barbaric tradition. Muslims do not understand that the Holy Quran changed all of that barbaric practices, it pushed people out of Jahelia. In Islam that pre-Islamic time period is labeled as Jahelia, which means Ignorance. And by the way, the punishment for adultery in the Holy Quran is 100 lashes, which to be witnessed by a few believers, not to be video-taped and witnessed by the entire world and publicized. It is to be done privately so that they can have a good life after their punishment. The Holy Quran gives further instructions about their marriages,which shows clearly that the Holy Quran does not give permission to kill them. But Muslims do it and misrepresent Islam to the entire rest of the world and to the rest of the Muslims. Their activities make people to be discouraged about Islam.

Some of such issues were discussed in this website in the context of chronological aspect of the Suras of the Holy Quran. Suras are the chapters of the Holy Quran. Please find them under Controversial Issues section. Hopefully form the various discussions you will see that Islam is a truly beautiful religion, it protects the innocent, lessens the crime in a society, protects the families, protects someone's privacy, provides solutions to every human situations including social and political issues and it teaches people to have mercy and be humble. A positive mindset is much needed in understanding the true teachings of Islam. So here are the chapters of the Holy Quran, as they appear in the Holy Quran: